Modern technology has helped to improve society most apparently by making everyday tasks easier to complete. However, this is just one benefit that people may realize from modern technology. People with language barriers, people with disabilities, etc. have faced challenges in the past that may have discouraged them from participating in certain activities. For example, non-native language speakers, hearing-impaired people, vision-impaired people, etc. may desire to see a movie in a movie theatre or attend a live event, and may find themselves at an immediate disadvantage because they cannot fully appreciate the presentation. Technological developments like closed-captioning, sound-amplifying listening devices, wireless transmission of enhanced audio soundtracks, etc., have helped to improve the experience by expanding the presentation of large-scale events to accommodate a variety of language speakers, hearing or vision-impairment, etc. However, these enhancement systems have limitations that may not make them appropriate for live venues. For example, a movie theatre may hesitate to present a general admission movie with closed-captioning because it may disrupt the experience of other patrons. Moreover, it may be difficult to provide enhanced audio (e.g., audio in an alternative language or that may provide information about what action may be occurring in conjunction with the audible portion of the presentation) when the presentation is live due to the need to account for unexpected events in the live presentation, to precisely synchronize the timing of the enhanced audio program, etc.
At least one solution has been developed to allow a larger audience to enjoy movies and other similar programs. A device including visual and/or audible enhancement may be provided to patrons as part of a venue-based system for delivering closed-captioning, enhanced audio, etc. A device may include, for example, an eyeglass-like portion with lenses onto which text may be projected. The text may seem to appear in midair wherever the wearer is looking, and may narrate or explain aspects of the presentation in the same or another language. In the same or a separate device, a headphone system may provide enhanced audio that may provide dialog in another language, may help to explain action that is occurring in the presentation but may not be visible to the user, etc. While the benefits may be readily apparent, these systems may be a challenge to implement. Existing solutions run on proprietary equipment/software that must be purchased, installed, distributed, collected, maintained, etc. by event-presenting venues. The resulting costs may be prohibitive, especially to smaller venues. Moreover, visual and/or audible content must be developed for each new event (e.g., for new movies, shows, etc.), which places further burden on the venues.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.